How Does Double Jeopardy Really Work?
misconstrued ideas about how our criminal justice system works. This, of course, is certainly true with the concept of double jeopardy, which was popularized by the Ashley Judd movie of the same name. Double jeopardy occurs when an individual is charged twice for the same crime. The constitution prevents double jeopardy from becoming an issue in American courts because otherwise, prosecutors would have free reign to try cases over and over again, and the law of averages suggests that they would eventually turn a guilty verdict. Under our system, however, you cannot be put on trial again if you’re found innocent of the charges against you. This is all well and good, but double jeopardy does have a few limitations that certainly were misconstrued in the movie, and have left Americans certain of rights they don’t have. In the movie, Ashley Judd is framed for murdering her husband. She is convicted of the crime, sent to jail, and finally released on parole. Subsequently, she decides that i
